Carp Catchers Blog

Triggalink is a revolutionary hooklink braid. It is woven with PVA which once in water it melts drawing in the braid and becomes an elasticated, self hooking rig. Carp do not know how to deal with Triggalink due to the elasticity which makes it hard for them to use the weight of the lead to throw the hook. The elasticity in the braid doesn’t allow them to make contact with the lead without the hook penetrating and taking hold. Triggalink is proven to enhance hook holds, especially when fishing barbless hooks and in weed.

To tie this rig I used Nash Triggalink, Nash The Missing Link, a Nash Safety Bolt Bead Ring Swivel and a Nash Fang Gaper Hook.

Step 1.

Strip 8 inches of Missing Link and tie a small hair loop in one end.

Step 2.

Now thread your choosen bait onto the hair with a baiting needle and secure it in place with a bait stop. 

Step 3.

Pass the other end of the missing link through the back of the eye and set a gap of about 6mm between the top of the hook and the bait.

Step 4.

Whip the missing link up the shank of the hook 5-6 times…..

….Before passing the tag end through the back of the eye again.

Step 5.

Now cut 12 inches of Triggalink off the spool and hold it along side the tag end of the missing link with your hook and bait attached to.

Step 6.

While continuing to hold the two along side each other create a loop with the triggalink.

Step 7.

Take the shorter end of the Triggalink and pass it round the Missing link and through the loop created 4 times.

Step 8.

Now create a loop with the Missing link along side the Triggalink.

Step 9.

Pass the tag end of the Missing link around the Triggalink and through the loop 4 times.

Step 10.

Now moisten both knots and tighten them down gently before butting them up together. Then trim the tag ends and blob them with a lighter.

Step 11.

Pass the tag end of the Triggalink through the ring on the ring swivel.

Step 12.

Create a loop with the tag end alongside the length of Triggalink tied to the Missing link.

Step 13.

Pass the tag end around the Trigga link and through the loop 5 times.

Step 14.

Moisten the knot and tighten gently, then trim the tag end.

The rig is now complete.

The length of the Triggalink when the rig is complete measures approximately 6 1/2 inches.

Once wet the PVA in the Triggalink melts and contracts the braid. Shortening it to approximately 5 1/2 inches.

This is worth baring in mind when tying a rig with Triggalink as it will always end up shorter once wet. This rig is known as a Combi-Link Rig and can be used with either bottom or pop up hookbaits. If you wish to use a pop up, mould some tungsten putty, such as Kryston Heavy Metal Plus , around the knot in the two hooklinks.

Tight Lines

Dave

The Shot On The Hair Rig is basically a bottom bait rig with a small shot added to the hair to allow a pop-up hookbait to be used. This completely alters how the rig to reacts to how it would with a bottom bait. The hookbait is allowed to move more naturally due to it’s bouyancy and the length of the hair. The shot on the hair allows you to either critically balance or overweight the pop up hookbait.  The nature of supple braid allows the hookbait to be picked up with minimal resistance and the pattern of the hook means the point hangs low below the hookbait helping it to grab hold. The simplicity of The Shot On The Hair Rig makes it easy to tie and it minimises the bulky components such as shrink tubing used on some rigs.

For the purpose of this demonstration I used the Korda Supernatural Hooklink, a Korda Kurv Shank Hook and a No.4 split shot. The shot size is determined by the size and bouyancy of your choosen pop-up, the bigger and more bouyant the pop-up the larger the shot. I found a No.4 shot to work perfectly with a 14mm Richworth Pineapple Hawaiian Pop Ups  although it varies between different makes and types of pop-ups.

Step 1.

Cut 14″ of Korda Supernatural from the spool and tie a small overhand loop knot in one end.

 

Step 2.

Thread on your choosen pop-up and secure in place with a bait stop.

Step 3.

For this version of the rig pinch the shot onto the hooklink below the pop-up. This will give you a slow sinking hookbait which is almost critically balanced. We will show you an alternative version of this rig, which has  the shot positioned differently, soon.

Step 4.

Thread the Korda Kurv Shank Hook onto the hooklink passing the braid though the back of the eye to the front and position the bait about 6mm from the top of the hook.

Step 5.

Now whip the hooklink up the shank of the hook 6-7 times and then pass the hooklink through the back of the eye to the front to finish the knot.

Step 6.

Double over the other end of the hooklink.

Step 7.

Then form a loop with the doubled over section of the hooklink.

Step 8.

Now pass the end of the doubled over section around the bottom and through the back of the loop created in step 7.

This creates the figure of eight, if you get this eight shape then you have done it right.

If you struggle with tying the knot then try this method. Alternative Figure of Eight Loop Knot.

Step 9.

Now gently tighten down the knot and trim the tag end.

The rig is now complete and ready to be attached to your lead setup.

The rig is best fished of with a small Dynamite Stick or PVA Mesh Bag thread down the hooklink over the hook to avoid tangles.

Tight Lines

Dave

Single hookbaits are a good approach all year round although they come into their own during the winter when bites definately slow. Single hookbaits are many anglers favourite approach during the colder months because of their effectiveness at picking off fish in their winter mode which otherwise probably would not have been caught if a bed of bait was used.

There are a wide range of baits out there which work particularly well as single hookbaits. I prefer to use glugged pop-ups for singles but most high attraction baits are suitable. Some anglers prefer high viz baits where others prefer high attraction food baits. My favourites are white pop-ups such as the Baitcraft Snowball, yellow pineapple pop-ups such as Mainline Hi-Visual Pineapple Juice and food bait pop-ups such as Dynamite Baits The Source. This gives me a good enough range to try.

My tips would be to make note of any fish you see show during the winter months this year and in previous years if you know the water well and use these areas as starting points each session. Bear in mind on some waters the fish could well be at range so use simple pop-up rigs that are less likely to tangle and don’t over complicate things too much. And remember if you see fish show it might be worth a cast at them as fish are less likely to move much during the winter so the closer you can get a bait to the fish the better chance of a run.

Tight Lines

Dave

This rig is ideal for use in solid PVA bags when fishing them into weed but it will work in most fishing situations you may come across. Because The Reverse Combi Link Rig is tied with a supple braided hooklink it is prone to tangles if it isn’t used correctly. The components used in this demonstration were ESP T6 Raptor Carp Hooks, ESP Sink Link and ESP Ghost Fluorocarbon Hooklink. (See picture below)

Step 1.

Cut a 6 inch length of Ghost fluorocarbon and start by tying a small hair loop in one end. (See picture below)

Step 2.

Now tie your hook on with a knotless knot, setting your hair to the desired length. (See picture below)

Step 3.

Then double over the other end of the Ghost leaving a length of about an inch back to the eye of the hook. (See picture below)

Step 4.

Cut an 8 inch length of ESP Sink Link braid and pass one end through the doubled over the Ghost fluorocarbon and then whip it round the fluorocarbon towards the eye of the hook 7-8 times. (See picture below)

Step 5.

Whip the Sinklink 6-7 times back away from the hook before passing it back through the Ghost the same way that it came in. (See picture below)

Step 6.

Moisten the knot and slowly tighten it making sure it pulls together neatly to ensure the knot doesn’t slip, a little rig glue may be added to secure it further and trim the tag ends blobbing them with a lighter for an extra neat presentation. (See picture below) 

Step 7.

Finish the rig with a figure of eight knot for quick and easy rig changes. The finished rig, should look like this. (See picture below)

The Reverse Combi Link Rig can be used for both bottom baits and pop-ups. Add tungsten putty to the knot joining the two materials, to pin the bait down when using pop ups.

Tight lines

Dave